The Who were formed in 1964 by singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction. The Who have sold about 100 million records, and have charted 27 Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as 17 top ten albums, with 18 Gold, 12 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone.

The Who rose to fame in the UK with a series of Top 10 hit singles, boosted in part by pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline, beginning in January 1965 with I Can't Explain. The albums My Generation (1965), A Quick One (1966) and The Who Sell Out (1967) followed, with the first two reaching the UK Top Five. They first hit the US Top 40 in 1967 with Happy Jack and hit the Top 10 later that year with I Can See for Miles. Their fame grew with memorable performances at the Monterey Pop, Woodstock and Isle of Wight music festivals. The 1969 release of Tommy was the first in a series of top ten albums in the US, followed by Live at Leeds (1970), Who's Next (1971), Quadrophenia (1973), The Who by Numbers (1975), Who Are You (1978) and The Kids Are Alright (1979).

Moon died at the age of 32 in 1978, after which the band released two studio albums, the UK and US Top Five Face Dances (1981) and the US Top 10 It's Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones, before disbanding in 1983. They re-formed at events such as Live Aid and for reunion tours such as their 25th anniversary tour (1989) and the Quadrophenia tours of 1996 and 1997. In 2000, the three surviving original members discussed recording an album of new material, but their plans temporarily stalled upon Entwistle's death at the age of 57 in 2002. Townshend and Daltrey continue to perform as The Who, and in 2006 they released the studio album Endless Wire, which reached the Top 10 in the UK and US.

The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, their first year of eligibility; the display describes them as "Prime contenders, in the minds of many, for the title of World's Greatest Rock Band." Time magazine wrote in 1979 that "No other group has ever pushed rock so far, or asked so much from it." Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "Along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who complete the holy trinity of British rock."

They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988, and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001, for creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. In 2008 surviving members Townshend and Daltrey were honoured at the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors. That same year VH1 Rock Honors paid tribute to The Who; Jack Black of Tenacious D called them "the greatest band of all time."